The Church World Service has been mobilizing people for more than four decades to fight hunger on a local and global level.

Annual CROP Hunger Walks have taken place around the country, and Vermont is no exception. Burlington’s walks have raised more than $800,000 over the past 35 years, about $200,000 of that benefiting local agencies, according to Rev. Bert Marshall, Field Director for the New England Region of Church World Service.

Burlington’s walks have raised more than $800,000 over the last 35 years, about $200,000 of that benefiting local agencies, according to the Rev. Bert Marshall, Field Director for the New England Region of Church World Service.

The first major wave of local walks kick off this Sunday with events in Addison County, the Barre-Montpelier area, Bellows Falls, Lake Fairlee, Northfield and the Washington West region.

Charlotte and Burlington will hold separate events Oct. 12. Walks will be held in Bennington and Rutland on Oct. 19 and in the Champlain Islands on Oct. 26. The Fair Haven area held a walk last week.

Marshall said that the walks have continued over the years for good reason.

“Its enduring legacy and popularity have a lot to do with the fact that the event brings widely-diverse groups of people together in community to address a common cause, and to actually do something positive to make a difference in the lives of people in need,” he said.

Marshall said hunger the primary health concern on the planet. The CROP Hunger Walks fight back by investing in small-scale, sustainable programs around the world over long periods of time, he said, letting those who benefit become partners in developing their communities.

Rice Memorial High School has been the top high school fundraising group in the country, according to Marshall.

“They are an extraordinary testament to what a determined group of young people can do to make a difference in the world,” he said.

Lucy Samara, an organizer of the Burlington walk, said that event is now in its 35th year. She noted the CROP walk’s has served as inspiration for other fundraising events.

“It has the legacy of having started all this,” she said.

To further its work locally and across the country, about 25 percent of proceeds from CROP Walk events stay in the community. In Burlington, 20 percent of that amount will benefit the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, the remaining 5 percent for the Joint Urban Ministry Project (JUMP).

The other 75 percent is used to fight hunger around the globe. CROP walks are sponsored by the Church World Service, but Samara said the organization works with non-denominational groups.

Mark Kennedy is facilitating the Champlain Islands Walk and has participated in the event since he was a child. He enjoys watching the community gather for a common cause, walking in solidarity with those who are struggling.

Kennedy’s walk features short and long trails and incorporates bike riders into routes.

Adding to the traditional walk, the Champlain Islands event includes a food drive and the option for walkers to stop along the route and physically pick up and carry food in a symbolic gesture.

As with the Burlington walk, 25 percent of the proceeds will stay in the Islands. That portion of the proceeds will benefit the local food shelf and Food for Thought, a food and literacy education program.